Zelenskyy and Merz agree to keep Taurus missile talks quiet
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Friedrich Merz (Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the supply of Taurus missiles with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. But they agreed not to talk about it publicly, RTL Direkt reports.
"There are certain topics that we have agreed not to discuss publicly. But I don't want to lie. We discussed the Taurus issue during a one-on-one meeting between the Chancellor and me. We are working in this direction, but I cannot disclose any details at this time. I promised this to the chancellor, and I keep my word," Zelenskyy said.
Taurus is not the only tool
At the same time, the President of Ukraine believes that Taurus is not the only tool needed to stop Russia and Vladimir Putin.
"This is not enough. We need Taurus, we need Patriot. We need to do all this and develop further. We need political pressure. We need powerful sanctions packages. We need unity between Europe and America. Without this, Russia can attack anyone. If we do not strengthen Ukraine, if we do not do this, Russia can attack others," the head of state believes.
According to Zelenskyy, if Ukraine falls, Russia will resolve issues in Europe by force. The President added that Taurus is one of the tools Ukraine could use for defense.
"But Taurus alone cannot protect any country in the world from Russia. I cannot say how many weapons there are in Europe or other countries, but I want to say this: in a month, Russia attacks Ukraine with more missiles than other countries have in stock. Every month, our civilian infrastructure is subjected to missile strikes. And, to be honest, when we talk about Taurus, yes, we would be very grateful. Believe me," he stressed.
Zelenskyy noted that not all countries need to know how many Taurus missiles Germany has and how much production can be expanded. But it is important that the Russians in the Kremlin know that the weapons exist.
"The weapons don't need to be used, but knowing that they exist is important. These steps matter," the President added.
According to him, Ukraine is developing various long-range weapons. But in order to expand production, funding is needed. However, unlike other countries, Ukraine is ready to share its achievements with those states that help it.
"We know that we need to diversify production. We cannot have only one warehouse in Ukraine because Russia can attack it. We must diversify both warehouses and production, and financing. We need different formats of long-range weapons," Zelenskyy said.
Taurus missiles for Ukraine
Germany is one of the leaders in military aid to Ukraine. But discussions about the supply of Taurus long-range missiles are still ongoing.
Former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz opposed providing Ukraine with German missiles for fear that it would lead to escalation. The new head of the German government, Friedrich Merz, is not as categorical about Taurus. But he wants discussions on this issue to take place behind closed doors.
At the same time, during Zelenskyy's visit to Berlin yesterday, Ukraine and Germany signed an agreement on financing Ukrainian-made long-range weapons.
